Soul Render (Soul Stones Book 1)

by T. L. Branson

  Ocken, Strike, and Jade now fought with the advantage of three on two. Jade cut down her opponent in short order. Ocken swung Melody at the last remaining guard. The man dodged and then lunged back, aiming his blade for Ocken’s chest. Strike intercepted him, swinging his sword from below, knocking the blade high.

  Ocken thrust his swordstaff at the guard, impaling him in the abdomen.

  Taking a deep breath, Ocken’s shoulders sagged with exhaustion. He would find no rest yet, though. Not until the night was over.

  “Thanks,” Strike said.

  “Don’t mention it,” Jade replied.

  “Come on—Will, Maya, and Riley are already inside,” Ocken said.

  Ocken was first to the top of the stairs. He crossed the small platform and reached a hand out to open the doors. As he did so, the doors blew open from the inside, slamming into Ocken, sending him tumbling backward.

  An inhuman roar filled his ears.

  “No!” Will shouted as Riley’s body crumpled to the floor beside him. The guard started to rise. Will cast out another energy blast, destroying his soul. He scrambled over to Riley and rolled her onto her back.

  “No, no, no,” he muttered, looking into her face.

  Her eyes stared straight ahead, filled with life but devoid of responsiveness. He shook her shoulders, her head lolling back and forth. Will dug his face into her chest and wept.

  Just like Blake. He was a danger to others. All people ever did was get hurt.

  Don’t go there, Lotess said. Not now. You have the chance to do some good. You can stop Drygo. You can stop Iket.

  Will pulled the black diamond from his pocket. Will turned it over in his hand. The glow of life swirled beneath its surface.

  If Ocken was right, the queen’s soul resided within the stone. Her own body was likely long gone, having died nearly twenty years prior. Will could think of no greater way to honor Riley’s sacrifice than to use her as a host for Maya’s mother.

  Will reached for the magic within himself and pulled at the soul within the stone. It grew as he drew it out, freeing it from its tiny cage. He placed the soul into Riley’s body.

  The Soul Siphon darkened and dulled.

  He didn’t have time to see if it worked. Will stood and advanced on Drygo with the stone outstretched in his hand. He didn’t know if he could separate two intertwined souls, but for Maya’s sake, he would try.

  Will stood and advanced on the king. Maya traded blows with her father, but she remained on the defensive, not wishing to do him any harm.

  Will came up behind the king and grabbed his shoulder. Drygo spun, backhanding him, sending him to the ground. Will jumped and ran at him head on.

  Drygo shucked his sword and raised his bare hands. He punched left, then right. Will leaned away from the blows, dodging them. Will grabbed the king’s wrist and used the Soul Sight.

  A black mass of power writhed beneath the surface of the king’s skin. Will couldn’t even tell where Iket’s power ended and Drygo’s soul began. The corruption of the Soul Siphon covered him completely. Will reached out with his soul and clamped down firmly on the king’s.

  Corruption poured from the king, coursing through Will’s soul like lightning. Will steeled himself, drew upon his power, and held fast onto Drygo. He could feel Drygo’s soul beneath the power, but the corruption wove itself so tightly around it he could not wrench it free.

  Drygo latched onto him and sent a wave of energy coursing down the tether, slamming into Will, ejecting his soul from his body. The stone fell away, clattering to the ground.

  The king dived for the stone, retrieving it once more.

  Looking down upon the stone, the king’s face fell and he said, “No! What have you done? Where is she?”

  Drygo roared. His eyes turned black and he advanced on Will’s soul. He reached down and clutched Will’s throat then pulled on his power. Will’s soul began to pull and bunch together, forming a thin strand that wove down Drygo’s arm toward the king’s body.

  Will felt like his insides were being sucked out of him.

  He kicked and pushed and flailed. He tried to fight, but it was futile.

  He had failed. This was the end.

  “Alexander?” a voice said.

  The king faltered.

  From the corner of his eye, Will saw that it was Riley. She was sitting up.

  It worked! Will thought.

  Turning his attention back to Will, Drygo resumed his assault.

  Maya brought a large vase of flowers crashing into the back of Drygo’s head and he released Will. The king spun around with a growl and smacked Maya across the face. She fell to the floor.

  “Alexander, no!” Riley said.

  Will dived back into his body, reaching for the anchor in his pocket.

  The king spun on her and asked, “Who are you to speak to me in such a way?”

  “Xandie, it’s me,” Riley said.

  “Evie?” the king asked, his eyes going wide.

  The door of the throne room burst open and Drygo’s head turned away.

  Will didn’t care who it was, he needed to attack while the king was distracted. Hand on his anchor, Will steadied himself and focused. He pulled forth the power of the stone and concentrated it in the palm of his hand. He loosed the blast, hitting the king squarely.

  Drygo stumbled backward. Pieces of the corruption flew away, releasing their hold on the king. Another blast and more of the corruption fell away. The king blinked and launched himself at Will, tackling him to the ground. Drygo climbed atop Will, and drawing power from his own anchor, reached out to finish the job he started.

  Robert soared through the air, tackling the king off of Will. The stone flew from his hand and tumbled away.

  Will flipped over and lunged for the Soul Siphon once more.

  Screams erupted in the throne room.

  Will turned to see Drygo with his hand around Robert’s neck. Black lines started to creep along Robert’s face.

  No, Will thought. He couldn’t lose Robert twice. Forget saving the king, Will decided to do what he’d be sent to do.

  Drawing upon his power, Will formed a dagger out of the light energy. He raised it above the stone.

  “No!” Maya shouted, reaching her hand out to him.

  No! Lotess screamed at the same time.

  Will’s energy blade came down and pierced the Soul Siphon. The stone cracked, splintered, and broke in two.

  You fool! Lotess said. You don’t know what you’ve just done.

  35

  Ocken struggled to stand. He placed the staff of his weapon on the ground and used its support to lift himself up.

  Two large humanoids came through the doors to the palace. They were nearly twice the size of a man, black spider webs running the length of their heaving chests and bulging muscles.

  The lead creature puffed out its chest and roared in their faces. As one, the two surged forward.

  Ocken ran from the stairs and back down into the courtyard.

  “What are those things?” Strike said.

  “Brawlers,” Ocken said. Ocken had faced them once before, when Berxley and Celesti fell to Drygo’s murderous campaign to unify the country.

  “How do we beat them?” Jade asked.

  “Lots of little hits,” Ocken said. “Wear them down and bleed them out. They don’t feel pain, so they won’t react. They won’t flinch, they won’t howl, they’ll just smash your brains in.”

  “Lovely,” she said.

  “Oh, and don’t get hit,” Ocken said.

  The brawlers jumped from the stairs into the courtyard, advancing on the companions. The lead brawler swung a lumbering arm at Ocken, who easily dodged it. The brawlers were strong, but they were slow. If he watched their attacks they could be avoided.

  He sliced his blade along the beast’s left leg, opening up a six-inch gash on its calf. Blood oozed from the wound, but the brawler didn’t seem to notice.

  The brawler raised both fists above
his head and brought them slamming down. Ocken danced back, but the shock wave of the blow sent him tumbling. He placed the butt of the staff down to steady himself and then advanced again.

  Ocken landed blows to the right bicep, the left shoulder, the left Achilles tendon, and one swing even separated the creature’s nose from its face.

  His brawler was beginning to slow. Strike and Jade had a rougher time with their opponent. Though there were two of them, they struggled to mark the brawler’s attack pattern.

  Strike’s brawler brought its meaty hands down in an arc. Strike sidestepped, turning his attention to Jade. The brawler, instead, redirected its swing and connected solidly with the back of Strike’s head.

  Strike fell face first into the dirt.

  “Strike!” Jade called out. She tried to reach him, but the brawler was too close.

  Ocken evaded his brawler and raced over to assist Jade.

  “Hey!” Ocken yelled, drawing the beast’s attention. Both brawlers now charged at Ocken. One was challenge enough, but two?

  Ocken had to make it work. Strike needed help.

  The two brawlers ran at him from opposite sides. At the last second, Ocken dropped to the ground and the brawlers collided, skulls cracking against each other. They fell backward and crashed to the earth with a loud thud.

  Ocken jumped up and swung his swordstaff at the first brawler’s neck to decapitate it. The blade sunk into flesh, but got stuck halfway to the bone. Ocken tried to pull Melody free, but the brawler stood, wrenching the swordstaff from Ocken’s hands.

  The brawler pulled the weapon from its neck, muscle and sinew visible in the wound. The beast snapped Ocken’s weapon in half with its bare hands.

  Ocken’s stomach dropped and his breath caught in his throat. He felt as if a piece of him had been torn away. It was like losing a close friend. He’d had Melody for years. She’d cleaved many a head in her time and had been a faithful companion.

  The brawler roared in defiance, the injury angering it. The second brawler was up and swung a lumbering arm at him. Ocken danced out of reach.

  The injured brawler charged and smashed into the second. The latter shoved it back and the former just roared in its face. Ocken had no idea what they were saying, but he guessed the injured brawler wanted Ocken all to himself.

  But the other brawler was not backing down. It grabbed the injured brawler by the neck, dug its fingers into the wound, and pulled, wrenching the beast’s head from its shoulders with a sickening snap.

  Ocken was disappointed he couldn’t avenge his Melody, but he guessed he should be thankful that only one brawler stood to oppose him.

  Its bloodied fists came in swinging. Ocken dodged, ducked, and evaded its efforts.

  He had developed a pattern of avoidance and was beginning to wear the beast down when Jade yelled, “No!”

  Ocken turned his head. Jade knelt next to Strike, pulling his body close to hers.

  “You can’t leave me!” Jade cried. “Don’t go.”

  Strike’s head lolled to the side.

  Heavy hands came down around Ocken, grabbed him tight, and hoisted him into the air. This was no easy task as Ocken was a big man himself, but the brawler was bigger. It had Ocken’s arms pinned tight. He struggled to break free, but the brawler was too strong.

  The brawler began to squeeze.

  Ocken felt as if every bone and muscle in his body would pop out of joint if the pressure continued.

  Then he was falling. He landed on his back and the wind was knocked out of him. The brawler turned into a black cloud and blew away on the night wind.

  Drygo fell backward, then let out a scream.

  Robert coughed, scrambling away from the king. Maya looked on in abject horror.

  The magic inside of him burst forth like multiple holes in a dam, swirling around him and consuming him. Darkness surrounded him completely so that he was no longer visible, then it pulled in, crushing him.

  The magic compacted itself into a small black orb then exploded outward with a shock wave that shook the palace. A soulfiend stood where the king had moments before. It let out a loud screech and bounded for Will.

  It jumped into the air, arms outraised.

  A bright burst of white light appeared between them, causing the soulfiend to fall to the ground, screaming in pain. It climbed to its feet and bounded from the room, passing through the wall as if it wasn’t there.

  What just happened? Will asked himself.

  Though Will hadn’t expected an answer, Lotess replied solemnly, The beginning of the end.

  Before he could ask her what she meant, the palace began to quake.

  Maya had fallen to her knees, shock and bewilderment on her face.

  Robert caught his breath and said, “Run!”

  Maya didn’t move. Either Maya hadn’t heard him or she didn’t care. Will couldn’t leave her. He ran over to her, pulled her to her feet and dragged her along.

  Khal was assisting Riley, or whoever she was now, to her feet. All five of them fled the palace.

  The ground continued to shake. Bits of stone and dust rained down on them from above. Whole pieces of stone broke free from the walls and came crashing to the floor around them.

  Khal and the woman reached the bottom of the stairs in the entrance hall as Will and Maya approached at the top. Robert was already halfway down when the whole palace split in two.

  The stairs fell out from under him.

  “Robert!” Will shouted.

  Robert caught hold of the stairs that remained, hanging by the tips of his fingers. Khal raced back up the steps and grabbed his arm, pulling him to safety.

  The gap between the stairs was widening as a rent in the ground opened up like the jaws of a soulfiend waiting to devour them.

  “We have to jump,” Will said, turning to Maya and grabbing the tops of her shoulders as he looked her in the eye. “Can you do this?”

  Maya shook her head and came out of her fugue. Grim determination showed on her face as she nodded.

  Will and Maya ran down the grand staircase and leapt at the same time. They landed safely on the steps beyond. Will teetered off balance, but Maya steadied him.

  A man-sized chunk of stone fell from the ceiling, obliterating the stairs where they had stood a moment earlier. Another piece fell in front of them, reducing the railing to rubble. They descended a few steps and jumped the rest of the way, following Robert out of the building.

  Out in the courtyard, Ocken was trying to tear Jade away from Strike. Strike’s body lay limp. A flash of remorse washed over Will, but he knew now wasn’t the time to dwell on it. Jade was screaming. Ocken hoisted her up onto his shoulders and carried her kicking and screaming as they all ran from the palace grounds.

  The rent continued to expand, snaking its way out past the wall of the palace.

  How far would it go? How many people would die in its wake?

  Will and the others cut their way through the city streets. People were screaming and running away from the rent, trying to flee the city through the only road that led in or out of Shadowhold. Lucky for Will and his companions that they weren’t headed for the escarpment.

  Behind them, whole buildings were swallowed up, a cloud of dust shooting into the air where they once stood. They reached the harbor and clambered aboard the Wave Wraith.

  “Go! Go!” Khal shouted to the captain.

  The sails unfurled and the oars began to churn the water as the ship pulled away from the docks, but the rent kept coming. They were in the middle of the cove when the rent reached the water. A massive chasm opened up beneath the ocean and water began to spill into it.

  The Wave Wraith’s forward momentum slowed and then reversed as the flow pulled them back into the rent.

  “Faster!” Khal called out.

  “She won’t go any faster!” the captain yelled back in frustration.

  The shaking stopped and the growth of the rent came to a halt. The water, however, did not stop. It cont
inued to pour into the scar, filling all the way back to the palace.

  The Wave Wraith drifted closer and closer. If they went over the edge, the ship would capsize and be crushed under the weight of the water still flowing in.

  The ship reached the edge and teetered on the precipice. Will grabbed hold of the railing and closed his eyes. The Wave Wraith slipped down over the edge.

  Will held his breath and waited for death to come.

  36

  The ship fell ten feet then stabilized.

  Will’s eyes blinked open in relief and surprise. They were all still alive and the ship was intact. The rent had mostly filled. The water continued to rush in and the ship rose. Then as quickly as it started, the water leveled out and became calm once more.

  Will let go of the railing and fell to the deck, his legs giving out beneath him. He lay there, staring at the starry sky above, a trail of dust and smoke rising up to meet them.

  He’d done it. He’d destroyed the stone. The king was dead. His reign of terror was over. But then why didn’t he feel any better? Why did he have this sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach like he’d made a mistake?

  Perhaps the fear of the last few moments had addled his nerves. Maybe he would feel better in an hour, a day, a week. But what if he didn’t? What had he accomplished?

  Will flipped over and stood.

  He turned around with just enough time to catch Maya as she flung herself at him. She punched him in the jaw and kicked him in the groin. He let go of her and fell back down to the deck, doubled over in pain.

  “You killed my father!” she screamed as she kicked him in the gut then fell down atop him, landing another punch to his head. “You destroyed half my city.”

  The woman in Riley’s body called out, “Maya! Stop!”

  Maya stopped her assault and looked up at Riley. “Why should I?”

  “Because I’m your mother, Maya,” the woman said.

  Maya’s face turned white and her jaw went slack. Then she blinked and clenched her teeth.

  Ocken did a double take.